Early voyages to the East Indies

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Sir James Lancaster commanded the first East India Company voyage in 1601 and returned in 1603. In March 1604 Sir Henry Middleton commanded the second voyage. General William Keeling, a captain during the second voyage, led the third voyage. Early in 1608 the fourth voyage took place. Initially, the company struggled in the spice trade because of the competition from the already well-established Dutch Eat India Company. The company opened a factory in Bantam, Indonesia, on the first voyage, and imports of pepper from Java were an important part of the company's trade for twenty years. The factory in Bantam was closed in 1683. During this time ships belonging to the company arriving in India docked in Surat, Gujarat, which was established as a trade transit point in 1608.

In the next two years, the company established its first factory in South India in the town of Machilipatnam, in the present Andhra Pradesh. The company started making very high profits. By this time the French had also established their presence in India, and they have established their trading centres in Pondicherry, Mahe, Yanam and Karaikkal.

Sir James Lancaster commanded the first East India Company voyage in 1601 aboard Red Dragon. The following year, whilst sailing in the Malacca Straits, Lancaster took the rich 1,200 ton Portuguese carrack Sao Thome carrying pepper and spices. The booty enabled the voyagers to set up two "factories" – one at Bantam on Java and another in the Moluccas(Spice Islands) before leaving. They returned to England in 1603 to learn of Elizabeth's death but Lancaster was knighted by the new king, James I on account of the voyage's success.By this time, the war with Spain had ended but the company had profitably breached the Spanish-Portuguese duopoly; new horizons opened for the English.

In March 1604, Sir Henry Middleton commanded the company's second voyage. General William Keeling, a captain during the second voyage, led the third voyage aboard Red Dragon from 1607 to 1610 along with Hector under Captain William Hawkins and Consent under Captain David Middleton.

Early in 1608, Alexander Sharpeigh was made captain of the company's Ascension, and general or commander of the fourth voyage. Thereafter two ships, Ascension and Union (captained by Richard Rowles), sailed from Woolwich on 14 March 1608. This expedition was lost.